What began as an alternative to satellite TV has now become a primary source of entertainment in times of pandemics. Adult web series has taken India by storm, with the uncensored, edgy content and pinches of nonchalant sociopolitical commentary that these shows delve into, the OTT platforms have been more than successful in grabbing audiences attention..The flexibility to switch between alternatives (as there is always one of everyone) has also added to the rise of OTT viewership, the advent of cheaper data rates and replenishing attention spans further invited a large audience. Adult web series in recent times have dealt with subjects ranging from erotica, adultery, gore, crime, romance, sociopolitical. Here is a list of the web series that enchanted many people.
Paava Kadhaigal
An anthology of 4 stories Paava Kadhaigal tells tales of the darkness that lures on us waiting for just a push. It hits you hard enough to question the existence of humanity. The four stories are based on the subject of honour and caste pride with intertwining themes of gender fluidity and sexual orientation and how brutal can traditional inflictions turn out to be.
Delhi Crime
Inspired by the events that followed the horrific 2012 Delhi-gang rape case, Delhi Crime deals well with the subject of rising sexual harassment cases and is a testimony to the poor state of affairs with regards to women safety. Though some people thought that the story favoured the police authorities, the show serves the subject with great sensitivity. A city where more than 11000 heinous crimes are reported on a daily basis, the show tracks DCP Vartika Chaturvedi(Shefali Shah) and her teams, underpaid and underequipped, on the mission to hunt the perpetrators alongside surmounting the public, media and political pressure. Shefali Shah delivers a layered performance shunning the stereotypes of alpha cops who single-handedly nab criminals by punch and dialogue. The show portrays how even cynical and frustrated cops emerge victorious over the rotten system.
The Family Man
Mostly we associate the word ‘spy’ to larger than life characters like ‘Bond’, champagne sipping, someone on whom girls drool over, owns an Aston Martin at the very least, lives off of the public’s money, a life of privilege, seldom do we think about a middle-aged man with a drinking and smoking problem, eating vada pav over a tapri waiting for a loan waiver. The show follows the life of Srikanth, a husband, a father and a TASC force spy. It is the best adult web series.
Srikanth(Manoj Bajpai) for the outside world is a desk job guy underpaid for the time he spends on the job. At birthday parties you can find him see him convinced to change his government job and join a private corporate firm. But he dodges them and carries on. The show’s tagline claims ‘Inspired from Daily News Stories’ since it loosely depicts the presence of ISIS recruitment in India, lynchings in the heartlands, Gaurakshaks and primetime TV anchors chest-thumping. The show’s treatment of such subjects with bits of family gup shups in between makes it a good enough thriller to watch with your family.
Ray
From a satire to a psychological thriller Ray deals with 4-short stories written by the great Satyajit Ray. The anthology attempts to modernise the stories to the current milieu. We find recurring scenes of characters looking at themselves in the mirror and ponder over themselves. Starring Manoj Bajpai, Gajraj Rao, Ali Fazal, Kay Kay Menon, Harhvardhan Kapoor and Radhika Madan in lead roles, each story has two primary characters whose cross paths on their journeys. With few hits and misses in places, the anthology is worth a watch.
Kota Factory
We have seen many a series revolving around the IIT dream that deals with a student unwilling to pursue it. But we haven’t seen a series about the students who carry the will to get into it and work their asses off for it. The story is in the Kota hub of coaching centres. It follows the life of a 16-year-old Vaibhav who moves to Kota from his hometown. He moves in pursuit of his dream to get into an IIT. Fun Fact: The series got shot in colour. It was later graded into monochrome to depict the dull, boring and monotonous life of an IIT aspirant.
Mirzapur
One of the edgiest shows in the web series league Mirzapur follows the rule of Akhandanand Tripathi(Played by the ever exuberant Pankaj Tripathi) a.k.a Kaleen Bhaiya the mafia don. And the proverbial ruler of Mirzapur in the Purvanchal Region Of Uttar Pradesh. Mirzapur is the best adult web series. It fell short of its expectations in Season 2. But yet went on to become one of the most popular web series in India.
Sacred Games
One of the most revered series Sacred Games follows Sartaj Singh(Saif Ali Khan), a troubled police officer in Mumbai who receives a phone call from gangster Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), who tells him to save the city within 25 days; the series chronicles the events which follow. It is the first Netflix Original from India.
Ghoul
Ghoul is based on the Arab folklore monster ghoul. The second Netflix original from India after Sacred Games. It is set in India in a dystopian future where fascism is at its top in the story’s main plot. The shows follows the interrogation of a dreaded terrorist Ali Saeed in a secret government camp that ensues a series of horrifying and supernatural events.
Hasmukh
An underconfident towny comedian’s big break takes a sadist turn when he realizes committing murder is the only way to keep his onstage persona. Hasmukh is one of the best adult web series. In this King of Comedy stylised series Hasmukh(played by Vir Das), a subordinate to famous comedian Gulati(Manoj Pahwa) yearns for a big break. His teacher cum boss Gulati was the one who promised. A brawl takes place between the two. It results in Gulati’s death at the hands of Hasmukh. A frightened Hasmukh shows up on stage in place of Gulati and finds his timid self in full confidence and performs exceedingly well. Soon he realises murdering before every show is the key to his onstage persona.
Special OPS
Himmat Singh of R&AW has drawn stark similar patterns in several past terrorist attacks and is convinced that a single person is behind all the attacks. The series got the inspiration from several spying missions by India in the last two decades.
Afsos
A man with extreme suicidal tendencies and a deadly assassin uncovers the world of immortality in this dark comedy series. The show, Afsos is an adaptation of the Bengali novel “Golper Golu Chandel”. Nakul a failed writer suffers from existential crisis and lovelessness. He lives to die. But his therapist feels convinced that he fails because his heart isn’t into it. Nakul comes across a firm that offers to assassinate suicidal folks, run by a woman who has a hired gun to do the job. The hired gun if onboard is determined to complete the job under any circumstances even if someone calls it off. Will Nakul fail again even with a foolproof plan is the story that follows.
JL 50
A recent plane crash in West Bengal unearths a mystery that ensues when the investigation finds the plane originally went missing in the first place 35 years ago. JL 50 stars Pankaj Kapoor, Piyush Mishra and Abhay Deol ‘JL 50’ is a culmination of history, warfare and science. In a true sense, it is one of the most aspirational shows in the sci-fi/time genre of Indian Cinema.
Paatal Lok
Paatal Lok is also one of the best adult web series. The show follows Hathiram Chowdhary, a sceptical cop who is assigned to investigate a high profile case onset which he gets dragged into the darker realms of the underworld. Minutes into the show’s first episode we find Hathiram explaining how the world is segregated into three factions Swarg Lok or Heaven, Dharti Lok or place where normal people reside and Paatal Lok or hell where lowlifes like him take refuge.
Additionally, Paatal Lok is Amazon Prime’s answer to Sacred Games. The David Fincher inspired tone is gloomy and successful in pushing you into the abyss that lies before Hathiram. You peel off one layer a new one takes its place. It also draws viewers’ attention to the stark differences between the elite cities like Delhi and the actual North India heartland.
Maharani
Maharani is the story of Rani Bharti, a homemaker, waits for her homecoming as her husband is set to resign from the post of Bihar’s CM. But to her surprise, he declares her as his successor. Will she return to her hometown now and reject the offer or hold onto it?
Made in Heaven
Two wedding planners of Delhi try to handle the life, traditions and modern yearnings that the big fat Indian weddings demand. It unmasks the seemingly perfect face of the elite Delhi family. And shows the darkness that prevails beneath the glitter of these families. The show is treated like an anthology where Tara And Karan (played by Shobhita Dhulipala and Arjun Mathur) take on a new wedding setup.
Pushpavalli
A girl who was to complete her degree in Food Science and marry a man that her mother approved of it turns a full-time creeper after meeting a charming man convincing herself that their chance meetings are just a coincidence. Pushpavalli is one of the best adult web series. Created and emoted By Sumukhi Suresh the series is high on ironic comedy. Naveen Richard’s humorous portrayal of Pankaj lands most of the jokes.
A Simple Murder
A failed entrepreneur Manish finds himself mistaken for a gangster who kills for money and ends up helming a contract to kill a young girl. The show creates an illusion under an illusion leaving no room for an exit. It stars Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Sushant Singh, Amit Sial, Yashpal Sharma and Priya Anand. The show is a testimony to how much potential remains untapped in the genre of dark comedy.
Also know about the top 10 Hindi comedy web series, here.
Leila
Set in dystopian India in the 2040s now known as Aryavarta, an oppressive regime has bifurcated society. One woman navigates the system in search of her daughter taken away from her years ago. The story is a take on the brutal face of religious extremism that can lead society to doom. Gated communities, inequalities, filthy streets, polluted air, water scarcity reflect contemporary India. The production design and cinematography depict not a hypothetical world but in a sense reinstates into the face of the viewer the brutal realities of the world we live in.
Kaafir
Based on the true story of Shahnaz, Kaafir follows an Indian journalist in Kashmir seeking justice for a woman from POK who winds up on the Indian side of the Line of Control and is held prisoner under suspicion of being a militant. The narrative is both relevant and touching in these times of unrest between us and our neighbours. Kaafir is one of the best adult web series. It attempts to instil hope and peace within a system of prejudices that us versus them divides propagates. Mohit Raina portrays the role of the journalist, Vedant Rathod. His reserved angst of a suffering brother, a guilty son and a longing lover with impeccable subtlety. Dia Mirza gives her best to the role of the captured woman Kainaaz.
Lust Stories
An anthology of four stories that bring into focus modern relationships, love and sex from the pov of the Indian women. Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar and Dibakar Banerjee are the directors. The anthology brings into light subjects like unsatisfactory sex lives, the importance of communication in intimacy, elderly taboos, arranged marriages attempting to break the stigma surrounding these.
Ghost Stories
Given the current climate, there is no scarcity of horrific incidents. With this anthology, four directors draw horror from India’s lived reality. The anthology deals with subjects varying from the shock of miscarriage to post propaganda apocalyptic society ruled by zombies.
Criminal Justice S01
An MBA aspirant and a part-time driver get involved in a crime he says he didn’t commit. It follows the aftermath of an evening the boy spends with Sanaya whom he picks up driving his family cab. The show is one of the best Tv series. After a night of sex and drugs, he wakes up to find she is death. He also has no memory of what happened last night.
Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors
Anuradha Chandra stabs her spotless lawyer husband one night and confesses to her crime. But is it just an open and shut case? You can watch this show on Hotstar to know more.
Aarya
Aarya Sareen’s ecstatic family life is put to danger when greed consumes her loved ones. Can she escape what she hates the most, her legacy of crime? Moreover, Sushmita Sen does a fantastic job of helming the series over her shoulders. The actress’ return is worth a watch as she plays spotlessly a character never fully in control of her emotions when it comes to her family.
Inside Edge
Inside Edge depicts the game behind the game of cricket. Set in the landscape of conflicting interests where egomania is a virtue it is the story of Mumbai Mavericks, a T20 cricket franchise playing in the Powerplay League.
Your Honor
A judge’s son gets mixed up in the accident of a gangster. Will the judge go out of his ethics to prove his son’s innocence. The show is adapted from an Israeli series the writer Ishan Trivedi and director E Niwas have done a phenomenal in fitting the story within the Indian context. Jimmy Shergill depicts Bishan Khosla, his dilemmas and moral contradictions brilliantly. Abber Khosla (Judge’s son) played convincingly by Pulkit Makol makes us believe he’s innocent.
Asur: Welcome to Your Dark Side
Nikhil Nair, a forensic expert turned teacher returns to his roots at the CBI. He also finds himself caught up in a cat and mouse race with a brutal serial killer. The series Asur is the best adult web series. It pits two stark opposing worlds of Indian mythology and forensic science against each other.
Aashram
An Indian Godman’s apparent good deeds carry a cover for hidden illicit activities such as rapes, murders, drugs, vote bank politics and forced male emasculation. The story follows Kashipur waale Nirala Baba and his exposè.
High
Shiv Mathur an addict eventually finds himself in a rehab facility run by people who are working on a mysterious compound. This pill is boasted to be the edgiest of all but is this magic pill worth dying for? You can watch High on MX player.
Rangbaaz
Rangbaaz is based on the real-life story of Shri Prakash Shukla, a notorious gangster and once the most wanted criminal of Gorakhpur, UP. The series shows his journey from a DDU student to becoming the 2nd most wanted criminal in India.
Undekhi
Gun-wielding men, a murder and a lot of chaos. The series is also based on true incidents. Additionally, it depicts the brawl between two margins of society the power-drunk and the oppressed.
Betaal
Commandant Vikram Sirohi and his teammates are hired for evacuation of a village to make way for the new highway by Surya Construction Company as they begin the displacement, the officials uncover an age-old curse and an army of British- soldier zombies. You can watch Betaal on Netflix.
Panchayat
Panchayat captures the life of an engineering graduate, Abhishek. Abhi who with no better choice joins as a secretary of a Panchayat office in a remote village of Uttar Pradesh and what ensues after this event. It turns out to be a slice of life, delightful series capturing the heart of the rural heartland of India.
Let us know in the comment section, which among the above-mentioned series are your favourites.
